Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Progress 4GL Handbook

Using FOR FIRST versus FIND

The FIND statement retrieves a single record in a single statement. It has its limitations, however, when compared to a FOR block. A FIND statement always uses only one index and does not allow use of field lists or word indexes. By contrast, a FOR block can use multiple indexes to evaluate a complex WHERE clause that involves fields not found in a single index. A FOR block can also use a word index and the CONTAINS keyword to locate records, and supports the use of a field list to retrieve only a subset of the fields from the selected records. Both word indexes and field lists are briefly described in the "Using indexes properly" section and the "Defining efficient queries and FOR EACH statements" section. You can use the form FOR FIRST when fetching just a single record, if any of the conditions apply that would give it a performance advantage. Of course, the FOR FIRST construct involves creating a block, which has an overhead of its own that the FIND statement doesn’t have. Therefore, it’s good practice not to use FOR FIRST in all cases unless you have a specific reason.